How to Draw Clothing with Photoshop

Updated on February 28, 2010

This is what our final product will look like.

There are a lot of different ways that you can draw clothing
in Adobe Photoshop, and while my method may not be the same as other methods,
it is still an option available to you. And, since it’s the only way I’ve learned
how to do it, I’m going to pass that knowledge on to you. Before we get
started, however, you might be asking what the point is of drawing clothing but
not characters. Well, I don’t know about you, but I suck at drawing people, so
if I want to make an image with photoshop I either need to use a picture of a
real person, or render them with a 3D program. Drawing the clothing (as opposed
to rendering it or using a picture) gives you greater artistic control and
allows for a higher amount of detail.

Our base picture. In this case I used a 3D render.

Step 1: Pick Your
Canvas

In this instance the model is your canvas. As I said above
you can either render a 3D character or you can use a photograph. Stock photos
are great for this reason because you will be able to use the final product any
way you want without royalty fees. A nude model works best for these kind of
drawings because any clothes already on the figure would just get in the way
while you’re drawing. It is possible to do it on a model already wearing
clothes, but it would restrict the placement of the clothing you’re drawing.
For my example I’m using a clothed model, only because I don’t want to push the
censorship barrier on this website.

Once you’ve selected your model it is good practice to cut
them out of the background. This can be accomplished using the lasso tool from
the left hand menu. Just try to get as close as you can to the edges of the
model and do a ‘layer via copy’ from the menu you get when right-clicking the
base layer. This will create a copy of just your selection. You can then clean
up the edges with the eraser tool. The reason this is beneficial is because 1)
you can now add in any background you like by pasting a picture beneath the
model’s layer and 2) you now have the option of making the clothing appear
behind the model if, for example, you wanted them to wear a cape.

Looks pretty crappy at this point, but don't worry.

Step 2: Drawing the
Base

Next you’ll want to create a new, blank layer that you can
draw on. Select an appropriately sized paint brush (one that can draw around
the smaller details of the model) and pick a shade of grey to color with.
You’re going to color with grey because we want a color that we can both
lighten and darken later and because you can add any color you want to it and
have it not clash with a pre-existing color. (Although if you do decide to use
a specific color, you can always desaturate it later.)

Now you want to draw the basic outline of the outfit you
want them to be wearing. This is an important step since it will define the
shape you’re going to be working with. You can always alter it later with the eraser tool, but try
to get it as close to your vision as possible. In my example, I’m creating a
dress so for the upper half of the woman’s body the fabric will conform to her
shape, but below it will fan out into a skirt. Once you’ve outlined where you
want the dress to go, fill in the space inside with your grey color until you
have a solid shape on your new layer.

Reduce the opacity so you can trace the shadows beneath.

The shading will probably look bad at first, but just keep at it.

We're almost there. Just a few minor adjustments.

Woot!

Step 3: Shading

While you could probably draw in all the shading in the same
manner that you drew the base (with a paintbrush), that process can get time
consuming, switching between shades of grey, and it can really start to distort
the base shape. So I prefer to use the Dodge and Burn tool. If you’ve read my
article on Basic Photo Editing, then you know that the Dodge/Burn tool is used
for darkening and lightening parts of a picture, like a paint brush. The
difference is that a paint brush will create new shapes and colors whereas the
dodge and burn will only alter what’s already there. This way you don’t have to
worry about the shape of the clothing changing.

Now to begin you’re going to want to focus on making the
shadows on the clothing match up with the shadows on the model. The best way to
do this, that I’ve found, is to select the layer with your new clothing shape
and adjust its opacity (located at the top of the layer window). Don’t make it
disappear, just make it transparent enough that you can see the model beneath.
Now select the burn tool and essentially follow along all the shadows on the
model, burning them into the clothing layer. Since you won’t be able to see
exactly how the burn is looking, you don’t have to do all of your shading this
way. It’s just so that you can get an idea where the shadows are so that when
you return the layer to full opacity then you know where to work from. The same
is true of the dodge tool, except you’re highlighting the bright areas from the
model.

Once you have the basics of light and shadow on your
clothing layer you can start playing around with various sizes of brushes for
the dodging and burning. Feathered edges work best to give a gradient of light.
Also, if you’ve drawn a part of the clothing that doesn’t follow the model
beneath (such as the skirt in my drawing) then you’ll have to do some guesswork
as to where the fabric is bunched and where it would create shadows. It’s a lot
of trial and error, so don’t be afraid to undo something or create multiple
copy layers at various stages of the process.

Also remember to shade your model if necessary. You want
your new layer of clothing to blend with the model and in some cases that might
require the dodge/burn tool on the model layer (Such as creating a shadow for
the skirt on her legs). In this instance it would also work to draw a black
shadow with the paintbrush between the clothing layer and the model layer then
adjusting its opacity to make it look more like a shadow.

Speaking of shadows, pay close attention to whether or not
your model is casting a shadow on the environment around her. If you replaced
the background you don’t have to worry about this, but in my example I kept the
same one and she was clearly casting a shadow that has no skirt. In this
instance I just copied a section of her existing shadow and moved it down to
where the skirt would be (seen in the first picture on this article). It’s easy
to forget details like these, but not hard to fix.

If you find that you unintentionally made your shadows too
dark or your highlights too bright, you can go to Image > Adjustments >
Equalize and photoshop will redistribute the darks and lights to be more equal.
You can also continue to use the dodge/burn tool or Brightness/Contrast to
reduce shadows and highlights.

By going to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance you
can change the color of your clothing.

With enough mastery of this technique, it can be used to
draw entire characters (still using the base photo or render), giving them a
more artistic look.

Don’t get discouraged if your first few tries come out
poorly. Each time I draw a new one, it comes out a little better than last
time. It’s all about practice and perseverance.

This isn’t the only way to paint clothing with Photoshop,
but it’s a way to get started, especially if you have no experience with it.

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Comments 8 comments

Good article. It's a neat concept to draw your own clothing on a model.

RexoValentine 6 years ago

exclusively great dear.. i enjoyed it

Aya_Hajime 6 years ago

Nice tutorial!

One of the things on my project list is to generate fantasy backgrounds by combining sky, 3d-objects, Photoshop brushes, and Photoshop effects.

I am not sure how to get that shiny, glossy look that is sported in most fantasy backgrounds. Would love to see a tutorial on this ... [she asks hopefully] :D

M. T. Dremer 6 years ago from United States Author

Rusty - You're right, drawing clothing with photoshop can open up artistic possibilities you wouldn't have had otherwise.

RexoValentine - Thank you, I hope it is useful to you in the future. :D

Aya_Hajime - Making desktop wallpapers is also a passion of mine (I have a few hubs on the subject) but it definitely gets complicated when you start mixing many different kinds of media. Blending can be really difficult. As for a glossy look you might try playing around with the dodge/burn tool as well as the brightness/contrast setting. If that doesn't get the desired effect, you could also use the brush tool to draw in shadows and/or shiny areas on your existing image. Thanks for your comment!